Employment History

Dancer

Pamela Everett, a dancer who joined the world famous music hall troupe in 1995, says in a $2.5 million lawsuit against Radio City Entertainment that her former employer is illegally using her photographs for commercial purposes.

Radio City has tapped her photos to help McDonald's sell hamburgers, to promote Federal Express' delivery services and to help the phone company reach out and touch people, court papers say.

Everett's papers, filed in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, say the pictures were taken on July 21, 1995, two days after she joined the Rockettes, and were to be used only to promote music hall productions.

But Radio City is using, and has allowed third parties to use, Everett's photos for business unrelated to its productions, court papers say.

The dancer says her likeness has appeared on dolls, postcards, pens, pencils, McDonald's placemats, Federal Express ads, Nynex calling cards, disposable cameras, New York City subway maps and milk containers.

Court papers say Radio City sometimes has given Everett's photos virtual makeovers by changing her teeth, eyes, nose, hair and eyebrows, by placing her head on another body and by giving her body non-matching hands.

"Radio City has made such use of Everett's likeness without her consent and without compensation to her," court papers say.

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Everett says she and two other Rockettes met with Radio City management in April 1996 to complain about the commercial use of their likenesses.She says the officials said that their contract permitted such use and that the women would be fired if they kept complaining.

Everett left the company in 1998, said her lawyer, Frank Monteleone.The lawsuit was filed earlier this week.